Lack Of Photos Develops Into Negative Views

Things may have been slow lately, but look at the bright side. You're not Paul Appicelli.

If you were, dozens of people would be very angry with you. They'd be calling you a liar, scam artist and worse. They'd be suing you. They'd be talking about rearranging your major facial features.

People get very touchy when they pay someone a lot of money to take wedding pictures, and they never get the pictures.

Appicelli ran a photo business called A & A Best Shot Video and Photography for the past couple of years. The business was located in Manchester and then East Hartford, and drew customers from throughout the Hartford area.

He specialized in wedding photography, video and stills.

In a dozen cases I've found -- there may be more -- he took payments and didn't deliver pictures.

"It really put a bad taste on the whole wedding day," said Sharon Aldrich of Enfield, whose daughter, Tracy, hired Appicelli to take still photos for her wedding in May.

She paid $700, and never got her pictures.

Sharon Aldrich said Appicelli made countless promises to deliver the pictures and set up several meetings, but never delivered or appeared at the meetings.

Tracy Aldrich, 25, had saved her money for the wedding, and was trying to cut corners where she could. She's going to sue Appicelli, when she can come to Hartford again. She now lives in Maryland, is pregnant and cannot travel.

Appicelli usually offered a video-and-still photo package. Walter Bialkowski of Glastonbury got married in November, and still hasn't gotten the video.

"It's our wedding video. We want it," he said.

This is somewhat remarkable; Bialkowski is a police officer.

Appicelli seems to have gotten a good amount of business by offering exceptionally low prices. His still-and-video package, for example, was often offered at $1,200, which is way below the $1,800 to $2,000 many others charge.

He represented to the Aldriches that he would take the pictures, but another photographer showed up. That, too, seems to have been his custom. Once he got a contract, he often hired other photographers to do the shooting.

The problem, in many cases, is that he didn't pay the other photographers, so they kept the pictures.

Appicelli hired Peter Glass to shoot a wedding in May. Glass said he'd need a deposit. Appicelli gave him a check for $200.

The next Monday, Glass learned the check was drawn against an account that hadn't had any money in it for months. Glass still hasn't gotten paid. The couple haven't gotten their pictures. "This is a terrible thing for the couples, and it gives us [wedding photographers] a bad name," Glass said.

Several other photographers have the same story -- a last-minute hiring, no payment, months of promises, numerous meetings that Appicelli would set up and never attend.

Appicelli told me he's now out of business. He insisted he was going to make good on all claims against him. His attorney, Sam Faulise of Hartford, said he believes Appicelli is "truly remorseful" for what's happened, and is trying to borrow money from his family to settle his accounts.

I'm not completely convinced Appicelli is out of business. His answering machine, until late last week, announced: "You've reached Video and Photography for All Occasions," which sounds a lot like a business. I pointed this out to Appicelli. This week he has changed the message